☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. Legal Troubles at NCDOJ Division
2. Making a Run for It
3. Around Our Network
4. What We’re Reading
5. Our Recent Stories

By February 2023, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Numbers II was at his wits’ end with the North Carolina Department of Justice’s Public Safety Section. He wasn’t alone. For years, federal judges across the state had criticized its attorneys for missing filing deadlines and failing to follow orders. 

“Few groups have so persistently tested the patience of this state’s federal judiciary,” Numbers wrote in a scathing 43-page order issued on October 17. Jeffrey Billman and Michael Hewlett unpack what Numbers was so worked up about, and what Attorney General Jeff Jackson is now being told to fix.

The Lawyers Who Kept Screwing Up

A section of the N.C. Department of Justice repeatedly erred and antagonized federal judges–even in cases they were all but guaranteed to win.

“From Manteo to Murphy, North Carolina’s federal judges have chided, criticized, and chastised its attorneys for disregarding court orders and the federal rules,” Numbers continued. “Yet the Public Safety Section’s problems persist. Its persistent disregard for the authority of the federal courts and the rule of law is deeply troubling.”

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Making a Run for It

‘Tis the season for candidate filing, and political reporter Bryan Anderson was on the ground in Raleigh on Monday to talk to incumbents and newcomers alike as they submitted their paperwork.

Catch up on the officially declared hopefuls in The Caucus.

Around Our Network

A federal judge dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of a 22-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a Fayetteville police officer in 2022 while experiencing a mental health crisis. CityView has more.

A Robeson County mayoral candidate who lost by two votes is challenging 18 absentee ballots cast by residents in a local assisted-living facility, alleging that staff illegally helped residents request and cast them, per Border Belt Independent.  

Katharine Whalen was a co-founder, singer, and banjo-picker in the celebrated ’90s band Squirrel Nut Zippers, a North Carolina extraction. As INDY reports, she’s now back with not one but two new albums.

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What We’re Reading

The Upside Down: Durham’s own Duffer brothers cast their former high school drama teacher in the new season of Stranger Things, per Chapelboro. Hope Hynes Love, who appears as Miss Harris, now teaches at East Chapel Hill High.

‘Claims Sharks’: The Department of Veterans Affairs has flagged dozens of companies that help veterans apply for disability benefits claims to stop charging for their services, War Horse reports, including several in N.C.

He’s a Magic Man: The Athletic profiles Curt Cignetti, the “cocky nerd” who led Indiana University football out of obscurity to an undefeated season this year and previously coached at Davidson, Elon, and N.C. State.

Our Recent Stories

More Diagnoses, More Demand

As demand for autism services soars, state health officials are trying to contain Medicaid costs.

Michael Whatley’s ‘Recovery Czar’ Title Hangs Over His Senate Bid

President Trump tapped him to oversee Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Democrats are hell-bent on making that a liability.

Border Patrol’s N.C. Operation Was a Test for What’s Next

There’s a reason Customs and Border Protection, not just ICE, was deployed in Charlotte and Raleigh last week.